Category Archives: Metal Jesus Likes

The Porsche 718 Cayman T Is Brilliant, but Head-Scratching – Two Takes

TheSmokingTire – The Porsche 718 Cayman T combines the best chassis, cosmetic, and interior bits from the high-up ‘GTS’ model, with the base 2.0L Turbo engine making 300 horsepower. It’s one of the lightest cars Porsche makes, bar none, but also one of the least powerful. All of this would be great, except that it’s also rather expensive – just over $77,000 as tested. While the 991.2 Carrera T was our favorite ‘non-GT’ 911 of the last generation, does the Cayman T live in that same realm? Or is it just too expensive for not enough performance?

The C8 Corvette Convertible Cements Its Status as a True Drivable Bargain Exotic – Two Takes

TheSmokingTire – We know the C8 Corvette has what it takes to be great: a torquey, powerful engine mounted low and in the middle, quick, accurate steering, a brilliant ride, lots of features, and the performance of a $150,000 Porsche 911 for around half that. Plus, even in the regular “coupe” the targa roof is, (and for the last 50 years or so has been) removable; a true “best of both worlds” scenario. For that reason, enthusiasts, and even Corvette owners as I formerly was, look down on the Convertibles. Historically, the soft top not only changes the fabulous coupe lines, but also prevents you from attending some track days – cementing the “old guy having a crisis” image. Now, taking a page *directly* from the Ferrari 458 Playbook, the Corvette Convertible features a well-insulated power-retractable hardtop that looks great raised, looks even better lowered, and – get this – doesn’t intrude on the rear trunk space in any way. Remember 2021 – it was the year the Corvette Convertible finally got cool.